


Where It All Began

by antigravitated



Series: Nylah Trevelyan [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Haven (Dragon Age), Mage Rights, Mages and Templars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 05:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13427823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigravitated/pseuds/antigravitated
Summary: A blooming romance is awkward enough without being attacked by a lunatic with a god complex. Set just before the attack on Haven, the Inquisitor finds herself in a muddy situation.





	Where It All Began

 

* * *

"Herald of Andraste" she whispered to herself, shaking her head at the notion. Only a fortnight ago they were accusing her of mass murder and had her chained for questioning in the cells of Haven's Chantry like she was a bad dog. Now, since she sealed the rift at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, she was looked at with respect and revered as some kind of messenger of the gods. The mark on her hand crackled an angry shade of green when she thought too much about it. Nylah trudged through the snow that lined the shores of the frozen lake and gathered herbs and ingredients for the Chantry mothers to help in their healing. In all honesty, she enjoyed these walks - the peace and quiet was more than welcome.

 

She had grown weary of the arguments that had filled the War Room meetings. Seeker Pentaghast had called for an Inquisition and they had trusted Nylah of all people to make decisions that would impact the lives of all involved in more ways than she could bear to think about. The Commander had been less than pleased when she made the choice to ally with the mages. She had indeed left The Circle but she was not about to abandon her brothers and sisters in their hour of need. He had slammed the desk with an armoured fist and glared into her very soul before leaving the war table. She had successfully avoided him since but with great difficulty. 

 

Commander Cullen was about thirty years old, tall and well built with golden blonde hair that shone like a halo in the sun and honey coloured eyes to match. A thin scar trailed away from his top lip that twitched when he was nervous or about to laugh, not that she'd seen him do the latter much in her company. She didn't know why she even knew that or why a blush bloomed across her cheeks when she thought of him. She shook herself to rid herself of the thought. "You must not go there, Nylah" she scolded herself.

 

Most of the time, he watched over the training regimes of the new recruits and shouted orders and encouragement over the clanging of steel against steel. He was a mostly pleasant-tempered man from what she could see but the ex-Templar had wanted the Inquisition to ally with his former colleagues rather than the mages. Most of the Templars Nylah had ever met were either cruel or cold and sometimes both towards Mages and she wasn't wholly sure where Cullen stood on that matter.  In truth, it wasn't much of her business either. She didn't really know why she cared either. He was a stranger. They all were here. 

 

She looked down at the bundle of herbs in her arms and chuckled to herself. She'd gone a bit overboard with the Elfroot. AGAIN. The lovely Josephine would stifle a giggle as she came into the war room with sprigs sticking out of her hair and robes and everyone else would roll their eyes and tut. She was growing fond of the little Antivan Ambassador with her poofy silk sleeves and kindly whispered words of encouragement and so she made a point of calling on her when she had the chance. She sat down in the snow and made a little wreath with a few loose sprigs of the elfroot to give to her new friend as a gift for all her kindness - something her mother had taught her was ladylike to do all those years ago.

 

Her breath caught in her throat at the thought. 

 

Her mother... 

 

Had news of The Conclave reached home? Had her mother even thought of her in all the years since they had sent her away to The Circle? She remembered back to the day the Templars came to take her. Only just turned 13 and about to enter court life, the young silver haired version of herself screamed and pleaded and tore at her mother's skirts as they dragged her away. Lady Trevelyan's face had been hidden behind a veil but no sign of grief was to be heard from behind it. Her father, Lord Trevelyan had reached his hand out to Nylah, his face hot and red with tears at sending his beloved only child away but her mother stood silent. Nylah had thrashed and broke free from the templar soldiers' grip and lunged back towards her mother just managing to grab the end of her veil before the soldiers got hold of her again. A short, sharp tug followed and the veil was dragged away and her mother's stone cold face was revealed, the picture of serenity.

 

That face had haunted Nylah's dreams for the past ten years. She thought wistfully of her loving father and wondered how he had coped with losing her. She had written a few times to him when she lived in the circle but her correspondences were always sent back unopened. She was soon to discover, through a cousin of hers that her mother had taken control of her father's letters and he had never known that she had written. She gave up sending them after that but wrote every day to him her heart thoroughly broken.

 

The air around her hung heavy with anticipation. Something terrible was coming. She could feel it in her bones. The snow had soaked through the top layer of her clothing by the time that she had snapped out of her memories. She gathered her bundles and set off back towards the town. They'd come looking for her soon if she didn't return and she didn't need to be marched back to face Cassandra's ire AGAIN.

 

As always, Commander Cullen stood watch over his protégés outside the gates one hand on the pommel of his sword, the fur collar around his neck giving him the look of a proud lion. "Don't look at him Nylah..."she told herself, hurrying through the group of trainees and trying to avoid his gaze.  She absentmindedly strayed too close to a pair of young boys, younger than even her who were getting a bit too rough with their parrying. One stumbled back into her, knocking her to the ground, only the bundle of Elfroot that she clutched to her chest to break her fall. She decided she would rather die here face down in the dirt of embarrassment than get up right now. The clanging around her died down to silence laced with the soft murmur of giggling recruits who had stopped what they were doing to look at the Mage currently splayed on the cold, hard ground among them.

 

"Lady Trevelyan! Are you alright? I...I didn't mean for you to get hurt!" stammered the recruit who had knocked into her.

 

Her face burned bright red and she refused to look up at him. She could lie here for a moment longer surely? She had, after all, already made a fool of herself. "I'm fine. Honestly....I'm fine! I'm...im completely NOT fine..." She groaned.

 

"Herald? Can I ask what you're doing lying here in the middle of my training ground?" The  commander chuckled as he walked towards her, his boots crunching nearer in the snow. 

 

"Nothing much...." She mumbled.

 

"Alright recruits, back to base. Work on your parrying, you two, stop being so rough. Save that energy for the battlefield. Till tomorrow, you may retire." He called and the young men and women dallied off into their tents for the evening. 

 

He rolled her onto her back in the snow and assessed the damage. "Ah you appear to have been caught across the nose with a sword, a scratch honestly though it will still need attending to, can you sit up?"

 

"Do I have to?" She moaned, reaching up to touch the warm blood trickling from her wound. She hated blood and her stomach turned at the sensation. 

 

"Ah, I was afraid you might say that. You banged your head as well by the looks of things. I'll carry you to Adan! He will help and then everyone in Haven will know what happened!" She could tell by his voice that he was stifling a laugh and opened her eyes to shoot him a dirty look. "Ah there's the Herald I know, now then, up?"

 

He reached out a hand to her and pulled her to her feet so quickly that she stumbled forwards into him. His arms instinctively shot out to catch her and came to rest on the small of her back, her nose millimetres away from his. They both turned red for what felt like the millionth time in the last 5 minutes. "Andraste take me..." She thought to herself, absolutely mortified and wanting to be anywhere but there.

 

He stepped back sharply but still held on to her firmly so she didnt fall. "Ah, sorry about that, lets get you patched up.." Looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there, he threw her arm over his shoulder and walked with her to the healer's shack. 

 

Hours later, her face cleaned up but her pride feeling bruised, Nylah made her way out to watch the celebrations for the sealing of the breach.  Adan and some of the recruits danced around a fire, spurred on by too much honey wine. The tavern was full and bursting with song and laughter. Cassandra approached her as she watched over the camp

 

"Solas confirms the heavens are scarred but calm, the breach is sealed. We have reports of lingering rifts and many questions remain but this was a victory. Word of your heroism has spread." The seeker's features softened with her gratitude.

 

"You know how many people were involved," Nylah blushed at the praise from her strongest critic, "Luck put me at the centre"

 

"A strange kind of luck" retorted Cassandra, "I'm not sure if we need more or less but you're right, this was a victory of alliance, one of the few of recent memory. With the breach closed, that alliance will need new focus".

 

The seeker's eyes were drawn suddenly away towards the mountainside by the sound of warning bells. Soldiers scurried past them towards their weapons racks and people began to flee towards shelter.

 

The commander came running into view, "Forces approaching, to arms!" He roared. His eyes locked with Nylah's softening for a moment. She nodded at him and watched as he turned to leave her for what she hoped was not the last time. Little did she know that he was thinking exactly the same thing.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to Exhaustion - The beginning of Inquisitor Nylah Trevelyan and Cullen Rutherford's romance.
> 
> The Battle wages on after this. To be continued after the fall of Haven
> 
> Please be kind and let me know what you think!! X


End file.
